


Fragment of Light

by Paint_It_Yellow



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Other, Pining, creative liberty taken, i'm physically incapable of writing angst, they/them pronouns for yubel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 12:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15685200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_It_Yellow/pseuds/Paint_It_Yellow
Summary: From beginning to end, Yubel loved only one.





	Fragment of Light

Yubel wasn't sure why they'd agreed to the procedure. Maybe it was the kindness or the curiosity that took form in such a unique way. Such a him way. Maybe it was the way his soft brown eyes would look at them so tenderly, with such love and compassion reserved only for them. Maybe it was his laugh, his smile, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he grinned, how he would listen to them and keep them company.    
  
Maybe.    
  
Maybe it was the untold power that he possessed, the one that they knew he could never knowingly wield or his life would shatter, his kind heart unable to bear that pressure, so they would simply make it so that he would never have to use that power.   
  
"He's like a small animal that you just want to protect," one of his handlers had mentioned offhandedly in a joking fashion.    
  
Yubel disagreed wholeheartedly, though it was never in their position to voice their view. To equate him to an animal would be degrading, it would indicate that he wasn't human. Sometimes Yubel thought he wasn't human- no human was perfect but he came so incredibly close sometimes. No, he was no animal. Yubel wouldn't want to protect him if he was an animal, not in the way they did now. They wanted to protect that him that laughed at their jokes and played games with them whenever they met. That was who they wanted to protect and he was no animal. He was just him.    
  
They never told him that they were undergoing the procedure. They should've, maybe. It might've stopped those weeks in which he refused to talk to them after he had walked in on the procedure, the hurt looks that they caught him casting them when he thought they weren't looking. They always were though.    
  
"Do you hate me now? For what I've become?" they asked one week as he turned away from them for the thousandth time since the procedure had finished.    
  
There was a pregnant pause between the two. Had they said something wrong? Or had they said something to dreadfully right? Their stomach folded in on itself as he slowly turned to face them, soft eyes widened just a fraction more than usual, looking horrified. Of what, of them? Was their appearance that terrifying?    
  
"No!" he had burst out, "I could never hate you! I just-"   
  
He paused, casting his gaze towards the ground.   
  
"Just what? Please, talk to me, I can fix it, I can try!" They didn't realise how desperate they were for the boy to talk to them until they heard the desperation in their tone.    
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, voice suddenly hoarse, glancing up at them, focusing on their eyes. The most human part of them left, maybe.    
  
"I knew you wouldn't have agreed," Yubel started;slow, "you would've thought it harmful, that I was forced into it."   
  
"Were you?"    
  
"No, this was my own decision. The King came to me and I said yes. I don't think I would've been able to handle it if anyone else was to stay by your side forever." Their hand came up to brush some of their hair behind their shoulder, hand resting on their neck as though embarrassed by the statement.    
  
"And I wouldn't want anyone else to be by my side!" the boy burst out, "I just... You do know what this procedure means, right? For you?"    
  
Yubel couldn't help but let out the chuckle that bubbled in their throat. "Of course I do! It means I get a new appearance that's a bit inconvenient in exchange for the chance to stay with you forever and the power to protect you. It's a pretty solid deal."   
  
He let out a breath and his eyes hardened suddenly, rage and sorrow swirling in their depths. "You don't get it! What happens when I die? You don't just get to go back! When I die, you follow. Our life forces are entwined, that's how it is! You don't- You just-" he sounded as though he were about to cry. Yubel reached out a tentative hand towards his shoulder in efforts to comfort him, but contact was never made.    
  
"You know," he choked out, "your family thinks you're dead now, right? You can't go back to them. You have family and you just gave them up, what, for me? Don't you care for your siblings? Your parents?"    
  
Yubel's outstretched hand fell to their side, expression turned somber. They crouched down to level with him, taking his hand in theirs, covering it with their other.    
  
"My family doesn't exist," they started, eyes- all three of them- purposefully directed away from the boy. "They haven't for a while now."   
  
He stilled for a moment.    
  
"What?" his breath caught in his throat.    
  
"I never had any real siblings, and my parents left long ago," they said, meeting his gaze.    
  
A deep breath and then a quiet, then a more resolute, "okay," sounded from him.    
  
The two paused, just looking at each other for a good minute, probably much too long, and in any other situation it would've been painfully awkward. But just for that moment, the two exchanged an understanding in that silence, no words being or needing to be said.    
  
"Are we friends again? Will you stop ignoring me now?" Yubel broke the silence, eliciting a snort from the boy.    
  
"I don't think I have a choice now. I don't know how long I was going to be able to keep it up for anyway," he admitted.    
  
Yubel smiled fondly at him and he grinned back in the way that made Yubel's heart miss a beat for just a moment.    
  
It was fair to say that after that they barely if ever left each other's sides. They'd explore places they couldn't when Yubel didn't have wings to get them there, he'd spent nights up late, talking to Yubel who was no longer in need of it, even if they did sometimes do it just for comfort. They'd sit in at the lessons that he was forced to take, pretending to read off to the side when they'd really be slipping answers to him, they'd sit discussing what pranks they could pull on who and still get away with them for hours on end and sometimes they'd just sit in silence, enjoying the presence of the other.    
  
He never did see the fond looks that Yubel would give him whether awake or asleep, or how they'd murmur calming words and whisper songs to him when he was having a bad night or the way they oh-so carefully swept the hair out of his face when he was sleeping, as so not to scratch him with their claws.    
  
It was such brief moments that made Yubel realise that the procedure was probably the best thing that had ever happened to them. Well, outside him, of course. They didn't know how they'd get by if they were just alone. 

It was just a day like any other when Yubel and he were sitting on a rock that only the two of them could access, all in thanks to Yubel. It was a prime sunset-viewing area, and Yubel, for once, was too busy staring at something other than the boy next to them at this moment and many others in times past and come. 

There was something coming, both of them could feel it in their very being. It rattled their bones and sent a shiver down their spine, but they kept quiet, even if it were just so they could take in the moment. 

The boy turned to Yubel, who was crouched next to him, taking clawed hand in his, stroking the scales down to the claws gingerly. He took a breath. 

"Donning this appearance... In order to protect me, you had to-"

"I would do it again, you know that. Protecting you until you mature is my task, after all," they cut him off, leaving their other reasons unsaid. 

They stared at each other in silence, Yubel waiting for him to speak the words he appeared to want to say. 

"Yubel," he started, downcast eyes turning to look up at them, "I promise you this: my love is yours and yours alone."

And their breath caught in their throat, expression slackening in surprise.

Love. Is that what they'd felt for so long? Love. A word to the feeling. 

"And- And I promise," his hand holding theirs rose slightly and his forehead bent to touch theirs, "that no matter what anyone says, I shall keep loving you and you alone!" 

Yubel looked at him blankly and for a moment, they wondered if they'd started hearing things. 

"Is that alright?" he asked hesitantly, head rising to look at them again, expression both confused and worried. 

They let out a chuckle that soon became laughter and the boy just looked even more confused and as Yubel went to bring a hand to wipe away a stray tear of their own, they found themself grinning, hand cupping his cheek carefully, eyes fond and loving, head tilted ever so slightly. 

"It's perfect," they murmured finally, hand finding its way to his neck as they pulled him in for a hug. 

That was the most wonderful of evenings that Yubel had ever experienced, that much was for sure, but they should've been more aware to the fact that good things don't last forever. 

The chills that they felt in their bones, the chills that they had ignored, they came out. Bursting and full of terrible, terrible life. 

War came upon the kingdom and the two knew not what to do. He wanted to fight for his kingdom, the one he had been born into and that the two of them lived in. Yubel knew better. 

Against his will, they dragged him up to the castle, the safest place in the kingdom, and made sure he was kept there. It was their job to make sure he was safe until he could wield his power, even if it was against his will. It hurt them as much as it hurt him, they were sure. His pleas didn't land on deaf ears, just ones that could do nothing about it. 

"News has been sent from his Majesty," a messenger said on one terrible day. 

The two stood and listened to the message that the messenger couldn't even dream of understanding. 

The Light of Destruction was influencing the war, it had come much too early. 

A small piece of it. The message informed. A distraction, maybe, but they didn't know much about the Light in general. 

He was needed. 

He wasn't ready. 

"They can't make you go out!" Yubel had complained as he suited up and got a horse ready to make the trek into battle. "You're not ready! You're young still!" 

"Isn't it my job though?" he'd replied, turning to Yubel with a firm expression, "To get rid of the Light?" 

"You're not ready! You're not of age yet, his Majesty knows this, I don't get-"

"You weren't of age when you went through the procedure, but you did it anyway. You did it for the country-"

"I did it for you!" It came out as both a snarl and a plea all at once. He flinched. 

"You know this," they tacked on as a whisper.

"I do," he said solemnly. "I'm sorry."

"We can still go back," they tried to persuade, though they knew it was for naught. 

He shook his head. "I have to do this, you know that."

"I also know that you'll die out there. You can't wield your power properly, the burden will-"

"But you'll be there, right?" 

"Of course I will! What kind of-"

"My protector, my guardian angel, my love," he said with a smile, "you'll be by my side the whole time. I'm not scared. If it's my time, it's my time."

"But-" Yubel cut themself off, swallowing the lump in their throat. 

"Alright," they whispered, the only word they could fathom in the moment. 

"Then let's go."

And go they did. 

The presence of the Light was instantly felt by both of them, but a single glance at him could tell Yubel everything. Pupil's dilated and a hurt gasp erupted from him as soon as he got to the battlefield. His body shook and Yubel's thoughts rushed, repeating the same thing. He wasn't ready, they should have fought him harder, lose the battle but win the war, that's how it's said! His body shook still and his hand reached for theirs. They clasped it tightly, not at all ready to let go.

"Remember," he gasped out, bringing a shy look to them, "it's not goodbye, our lives are intertwined, we'll see each other again."

They nodded, words betraying them for that moment and then they could feel it. The surge of darkness overtaking the battlefield and the silent scream from him as they seemed to feel lighter and lighter as time went by. 

They looked down at him, opening their mouth to speak as his eyes were squeezed shut. 

"You and only you," they spoke above the roaring in their ears, "forever."

Silence.  

They opened their eyes on a fine day and all they could see was a child, an older man handing him a card and a woman standing behind him. 

The boy looked down at the card and then a grin stretched across his face, soft brown eyes crinkling in the corners in the way that they remembered much too well and once the two adults had left, he turned to Yubel, eyes wide and innocent in a way that they hadn't been when their eyes had last met his.

"You're Yubel right?" 

Their breath caught in their throat for a moment. He's not the same, but oh, he's so similar. He's so small and similar and innocent and alive. 

"That would be me," they found themself saying instead of crying that he didn't remember them. "It's only polite to tell me your name too, you know."

"I'm Judai!" he grinned, holding out a hand. 

Yubel went to shake it before pausing at the sight of their outstretched hand. Not corporeal enough. Were they a ghost? Couldn't be... right? Instead, they crossed their arms and huffed out a chuckle as though this wasn't news to them. 

"You can't touch a spirit, Judai," they reprimanded softly. 

"Oh..." the boy murmured. "In that case... Do you want to look at my cards?" 

"Cards?" 

"Yeah! My duel monster cards! You're this one, see!" And he held up a card that was unmistakably them. "I have a bunch of them! You battle others with them! Follow me and I'll show you!" 

Judai was charming in every life in his own way, it seemed. Every time Judai showed them a card they'd act as though it was the most amazing thing, they'd talk to Judai whenever he wanted to talk, and they almost forgot about their mission. 

Protect. 

The battles seemed harmless enough at first. When they first heard of them they were concerned. In whatever time and place they'd ended up, battles were kids play? They couldn't imagine how terrible. But then Judai had a card battle with his friend and they understood. A child's game. They could live with that. 

Protect. 

The idea around their creation swirled in their head. Sometimes it was too much and they wondered if this was normal. It hadn't been back then, back with Him. 

Protect. 

They didn't know when, but at some point making Judai sad became almost as bad as if they'd come up and stabbed him and they wouldn't take that. When Judai was sad, their thoughts clouded and the next thing they knew, they'd done... something. They didn't really understand, Judai didn't either. By the time they started to piece it together, it was much too late. 

That battle where they'd last seen Him. They must have been touched by the Light in some form, even if just a little, the Light of Destruction was so potent, and his power so untrained and wild. They wondered if he'd even managed to stop the Light back then. 

When they were sent up to space, it was a miracle they lasted as long as they did with their sanity. They didn't blame Judai, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. The mantra in their head kept them as sane as possible, but the Light spread and it tainted minute by minute. All they could remember of their mantra in the end seemed to throw the blame on Judai. He didn't love them like he once did. It was his fault, but they could make him remember. Make him love them in the way that he didn't when they were a card, but in the way that he did back when they'd taken the leap and changed their entire being. 

Their mission changed. Love was the goal.

Snapping out of it was like having a weight lifted, like they were able to control their actions for the first time in a decade. Free of the Light, but not of all the soul-crushing harm that they'd placed on Judai. 

Spending time with an older Judai was like meeting a third. He wasn't like his past incarnation, and he was so far detached from the child that was fresh in their mind that they'd first met coming into this world. 

Coming back to Duel Academia was an ordeal for the two of them. Yubel was trying to handle being truly in control, still recovering a lot of their memories from the time when they'd been tainted, not to mention helping Judai as best as they could, if only to make up for the suffering that they'd placed on him. 

Judai didn't seem to know what to say to them for the first while, but Yubel was patient. They could wait until the end of the world if they had to, but they didn't want to force it. They weren't who he needed, not then. 

Asuka had snapped him out of it first, and part of them was annoyed with her. For how rude she seemed to be, but then they gave themself a good talking to. Judai was the one being rude, though they didn't like to admit it, and though they understood so well why he was acting as he did. She was the push that he needed to kick himself back into gear and Yubel wished that they could've thanked her personally for not taking any of Judai's shit. 

It was an uphill climb and Yubel found themself so glad that he had friends to help him in the way that they couldn't. 

Yubel advised against not going to the graduation party at the end of the all too long school year, but Judai was stubborn as he'd been way back when, so they couldn't find themself pressing too hard. 

"Think of it as a romantic getaway!" Judai joked as he made fixed his jacket into place. 

"Right, a romantic getaway with your dead teacher and his cat."

"Exactly! A family can be a boy, a dragon, a dead guy and a cat!" 

"Never said it couldn't."

"Ah, but you implied it," Judai waggled his finger as if he'd said something smart. 

Yubel snorted,  "Whatever you say."

They could live like this, Yubel decided. Spending a peaceful life wandering with their most beloved. At this stage, what more could they wish for?

**Author's Note:**

> I fell into Soulshipping and can't get out. The only problem is that I have to make my own content because I can't find it which sucks, so now I'm left crying because I can't write for shit but I need more content so I have to get on with it. Ah well. This is the first time I've properly tried something like this I'd say, so I hope it turned out okay. 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at future-circuit!


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